Steering. Review the 454 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electrical System. Review the 294 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →
Electronic Stability Control (esc). Review the 227 owner reports in this category and discuss these concerns during a pre-purchase inspection. Read reports →

NHTSA owner reports · September 18, 2026 snapshot.

41 crash reports14 fire reports35 injury reports

Electrical System complaints

294 reports

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Mileage unknown · Aug 20, 2022

Electrical SystemExterior LightingService Brakes

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THE BRAKES ARE DOING THE SAME THING THAT WAS RECALLED AND REPAIRED BACK IN 2014. THEY ARE ILLUMINATING WHILE DRIVING DOWN THE ROAD AND TURN OFF WHILE I HIT THE BRAKES. I HAVE BEEN PULLED OVER SEVERAL TIMES AND CANNOT GET MY CAR INSPECTED WITHOUT GETTING THIS CORRECTED. I HAVE BOUGHT SEVERAL PARTS TRYING TO REPAIR THIS BUT THE PARTS ARE NOT CORRECTING THE PROBLEM. CRUISE CONTROL, STABILITY CONTROL AND SEVER OTHER FUNCTIONS ARE NOT WORKING EITHER ALL OF THEM ARE RELATED TO THE SAME RECALL ISSUED BACK IN 2014. IS THERE ANY KIND OF WARRANTY ON THE RECALL THAT WAS REPAIRED?

NHTSA ODI #11480323

Mileage unknown · Jun 5, 2022

Electrical SystemEngineSteering

The car shut off while driving down the street. Lost all control over steering and braking components. After the car shut itself off was not able to get it to turn back on after several hours. Turned it back on but when attempted to drive it home, it shit itself off again. Still could not control steering wheel

NHTSA ODI #11467639

Mileage unknown · Jun 1, 2022

Electrical System

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When I bought the car in December of 2018 the car only had 42,000 miles on it. I had two incidences where the anti theft system went off locking me out of the car. The second time the vehicle had to be towed back to the dealership. Fast forward to 2022 and the car only has 77,000 miles on it and in the past three months the anti theft system has gone off in this car more than ten times. I recently went to a Chevrolet dealership and had them recut keys from the vin number.

NHTSA ODI #11466916

Mileage unknown · May 16, 2022

Electrical SystemEngineUnknown Or Other

MY DAUGHTER WAS DRIVING BACK FROM SCHOOL IN A VERY BUSY ROAD AND A MESSAGE CAME UP ON THE DASH BOARD THAT SAID ENGINE POWER REDUCED AND SPEED DROPED TO 5 MPH. I TOLD HER TO PARK SOMEWHERE AND TURN OFF CAR FOR LIKE 15 MINUTES AND TURN IT BACK ON AND CAR STILL DIDNT ACCELERATE. HAD TO GO GET HER AND LEAVE CAR THERE. I JUST PURCHAS…

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NHTSA ODI #11464843

Mileage unknown · May 4, 2022

Electrical SystemExterior LightingService Brakes

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I purchased the car for my mother on 10/20/2015 from Mike Savoie Chevrolet in Troy, MI. At the time I had a concern because there was a message being displayed on the car “Service ESC”, I was informed by the dealer that it was a false message and there was no issue with the car, we should just disregard but if we had any problems to let him know moving forward. At that time we did not have issues with anything else. There was about 80,000 miles on the odometer when we bought it, there are only about 95,300 now. Recently the brake lights have been coming on when the brakes are not applied, we have taken the car to a mechanic three times for this issue but he has been unable to duplicate it, as a result he felt that the brake pedal sensor was at fault and replaced it, but the issue still exists, a wasted $200! My 17 year old grandson is now using the car, the issue occurred again today and I discovered that this issue may be associated with a recall which also includes the “Service ESC” message which has been on the car since I bought it. However, when I enter the VIN it shows no open recalls. Apparently it was not fixed and the dealer should have fixed it before I bought it or I should have been notified of the recall. I AM VERY CONCERNED ABOUT MY GRANDSON’S SAFETY AND WILL NEED TO SWITCH MY CAR WITH HIM SO THAT HE CAN BE AS SAFE AS POSSIBLE! Not only do the brake lights come on when not applied, but you need to tap the brake to turn them off at that point other drivers are not aware that the brake is being applied. Taking the car back to the repairman today. Please help. Thank you very much for your time and attention to this matter.

NHTSA ODI #11463378

Mileage unknown · Apr 27, 2022

Electrical System

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Car will not start. There is a recall for this, but my car seems not to be included. Turn the key over and over....battery is good....will not start.....after 50 or so tries, occasionally it will start, but when you get to your destination, you have to pray it will start again. Sometimes it will....most times it won't. This is a problem with a recall. Dealership will not fix it under the recall without the car being on the list. A little help from y'all would certainly help me. I'm 73, retired, on fixed income. Cannot afford to pay a Dealership to fix this when it is a known problem. Please help....

NHTSA ODI #11462420

Mileage unknown · Feb 21, 2022

Electrical System

“Engine Power Reduced” comes on suddenly, alongside numerous other lights (check engine, service traction, ESC, etc). This causes the vehicle to reduce speed in traffic, increasing risk of collision. Other models of Chevy Malibu have been recalled for this same issue (faulty throttle sensor).

NHTSA ODI #11453275

Mileage unknown · Feb 10, 2022

Electrical SystemSteering

While driving the power steering goes out and a warning message pops up that says ‘Service ESC’ and ‘ESC Off’. It is near impossible to turn the wheel when this happens. I was able to turn the car off and back on, and the power steering returns/messages go away, but the same problem happens on and off.

NHTSA ODI #11451315

Mileage unknown · Nov 9, 2021

Electrical SystemLane DepartureSteering

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Had test drove the vehicle everything was fine, picked the vehicle up and drove it home everything was fine, parked in the back of my house the car sat over night I go to pull it out the drive way, the power steering has gotten stuck and I mean it was STUCK!, the “power steering” light came on the dash so I tried my best to turn to just pull it back in the driveway. It was so hard to turn I thought I would brake the steering wheel. Another thing whenever I ride over a bump my radio changes stations or turns off.

NHTSA ODI #11439820

Mileage unknown · Oct 19, 2021

Electrical SystemExterior LightingVisibility/wiper

Service electronic stability control light comes on and brake light comes on and off at times

NHTSA ODI #11437361

Official recalls

19V019000 · Air Bags:frontal:driver Side:inflator Module

Jan 16, 2019

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain 2010-2011 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles. In the event of a crash necessitating deployment of the driver frontal air bag, the air bag inflator may explode due to being overpressurized.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: If the inflator explodes, sharp metal fragments may strike the driver or other occupants resulting in serious injury or death.

Remedy: GM has notified owners, and dealers will replace the front driver air bag module, free of charge. The recall began February 25, 2019. Owners may contact GM customer service at 1-800-522-9559. GM's number for this recall is N182206630.

14V252000 · Electrical System:wiring; Electronic Stability Control (esc); Exterior Lighting:brake Lights; Exterior Lighting:brake Lights:switch; Vehicle Speed Control:cruise Control

May 14, 2014

General Motors LLC (GM) is recalling certain model year 2004-2012 Chevrolet Malibu vehicles manufactured May 16, 2003, through October 11, 2012, 2004-2007 Malibu Maxx vehicles manufactured June 25, 2003, through April 5, 2007, 2005-2010 Pontiac G6 vehicles manufactured May 26, 2004, through January 4, 2010, and 2007-2010 Saturn Aura vehicles manufactured April 24, 2006, through May 26, 2009. In the affected vehicles, increased resistance in the Body Control Module (BCM) connection may result in voltage fluctuations in the Brake Apply Sensor (BAS) circuit. These fluctuations can cause one or more of these conditions: the brake lights to illuminate without the brake pedal being pushed; the brake lights to not illuminate when the pedal is pushed; difficulty disengaging the cruise control; moving the gear shifter out of the 'PARK' position without pushing the brake; and disablement of crash avoidance features such as traction control, electronic stability control, and panic braking assist features.

Consequence & remedy

Consequence: Any of the above failure conditions increases the risk of a crash.

Remedy: GM will notify owners, and dealers will attach the wiring harness to the BCM with a spacer, apply dielectric lubricant to both the BCM and harness connector and the BAS and harness connector, and will relearn the brake pedal home position, free of charge. The manufacturer distributed an Interim letter to customers on July 14, 2014. The recall began on August 18, 2014. Owners may contact General Motors customer service at 1-800-222-1020 (Chevrolet), 1-800-762-2737 (Pontiac), 1-800-553-6000 (Saturn). GM's number for this recall is 13036.

Additional source detail variants (5)

Electronic Stability Control (esc)